Donna J Gamache, the Lawrence Group & Saint Louis Cellars

When the economy turns around and companies look to grow, will you be ready?  What can you do now to make yourself and your skills a more valuable commodity within your organization or as an independent practitioner?

Donna J. Gamache, director of communications for the Lawrence Group, will share with you her principles for adding value as a communicator in today’s economic climate.  Whether you are just beginning your career, have been with your employer for a while or are looking for an opportunity to showcase your communication skills, takeaways will include:

• How to grow and add value during these uncertain times.
• Selling yourself and your skills internally, laterally or externally.
• Ways to broaden your skills and how to use them in new ways and areas.

About Donna J. Gamache

Donna has enjoyed a successful career for 11 years at the Lawrence Group – one of St. Louis top building design and development firms. She launched their marketing department “from scratch” in 2009, when the company was posting $7 million in gross revenues.

Donna has grown and expanded her career at the Lawrence Group and watched its gross revenues steadily climb during that time, from 2008’s $7 million to a high of $57 million prior to the recent global recession.

Today she specializes in the company’s media relations, social media communications, publicity and corporate giving. She also has a sub-specialty in cross-cultural communications (US/China) and coaches colleagues for success on assignments in China in this now multinational company. She has a working proficiency in “Standard Mandarin,” and in 2005, Donna was part of a two-person leadership team that traveled to China to explore business opportunities for Lawrence Group. The result was a merging of Lawrence Group with another St. Louis design firm, Austin Tao & Associates, and the establishment of the Lawrence Group’s office in Beijing.

This past year Donna initiated a second career opportunity with Saint Louis Cellars, where she works in sales and on expanding the wine company’s social media presence to educate clients and prospects, authoring The Crush Pad blog. Donna used upselling skills to land the position in less than 24 hours.

She was previously with Cap Gemini in the role of knowledge manager at their St. Louis technical support center.

Donna serves on boards of Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in St. Charles, University of Missouri — St. Louis and ArtNetworking.com, an international online firm based in Los Angeles.

She attended California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, holds a bachelor’s degree in the psychology of learning from Webster University, with a minor in computer applications from their school of business and technology, and even though nobody has ever asked, she wants to say she graduated with honors and a 4.0 in her major.

Meeting fees:
$30 – members paying in advance
$40 – nonmembers paying in advance
$20 – students paying in advance
$5 additional fee for registering online but paying at the door

11:30 a.m.       Registration and Networking
Noon               Program

Meeting Location
Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel
7730 Bonhomme Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 863-0400

Register for this event!